Weihenstephaner Hefe Yeast? 3068?

Is the yeast used in Weihenstephaner Hefe the same stuff as Wyeast 3068?
I love the Weihenstephaner and am working on a hefe today. Would love it if this was the same stuff. :rockin:

Yup. Or atleast that is how it is advertised.

No, it is a lager yeast. Germans filter their Hefeweizens and then add more fresh wort and lager yeast before bottling. This is called bottle conditioning and the bottles sit in a temperature controlled warehouse for about 3 weeks at 50 degrees.

Edwort is partially correct. Traditional german Hefeweizen brewers do use a lager yeast to bottle condition their hefe's. But, Wyeast 3068 is a hefeweizen ale yeast. After fermentation is complete, a lager yeast (not 3068) is added at bottling. Ferment your hefe (with 3068) as close to 62 - 64 degrees as you can.

bierdude said:

Edwort is partially correct.

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He wants to know if the yeast in a bottle of Weihenstephan is the same as 3068 and it's not. You cannot harvest any German Hefe yeast from the bottle because it is not the same that they use to ferment.

Where am I partially incorrect?

I think the OP question can be interpreted two ways:
-"Is the yeast used in Weihenstephaner Hefe the same stuff as Wyeast 3068?" meaning the yeast used to ferment....yes (maybe, I don't have a source for this).

-"Is the yeast used in Weihenstephaner Hefe the same stuff as Wyeast 3068?" meaning the yeast in the bottle....no.

Good point. I would say yes to the first and no to the second.

The 3068 is likely the strain W68 from the Weihenstephan yeast bank which is not the same as the brewery. But given that W68 is the most popular Weissbier strain in Germany it is very likely that the Weihenstephan brewery uses it for its Weissbiers. I like this yeast a lot.

The practice of bottle conditioning with lager yeast has largely been abandoned. There are many Weissbier brands that can be used to build up Weissbier starters and home brewers over there do that quite often.

Kai

Thanks for the info. I will go ahead and use the 3068 to ferment and see what that turns out like. I am a big fan of hefe so it will most likely be drinkable.

Kaiser said:

The practice of bottle conditioning with lager yeast has largely been abandoned. There are many Weissbier brands that can be used to build up Weissbier starters and home brewers over there do that quite often.

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Which beers have abandoned that method? Erdinger still filters and uses a lager yeast today.

I got the info from a brewmaster at Paulaner who guided a tour. He said that bottle conditioning with lager yeast caused unsightly flocks and oftentimes elevated diacetyl levels. I even had such a beer (Ustersbacher) the night before. It had flocks of yeast and a hint of butter. This was the only Weissbier that I had with these problems.

It's possible that Erdinger uses lager yeast, but I don't consider it a good Weissbier at all. It's basically the Budweiser of Weissbiers in Germany. Very popular but very bland. Almost like an American Wheat.

Kai

Speaking of this yeast, does anyone have a AG recipe for this lovely beer?

Look in Edwort's recipe dropdown.

Kaiser said:

It's possible that Erdinger uses lager yeast, but I don't consider it a good Weissbier at all. It's basically the Budweiser of Weissbiers in Germany. Very popular but very bland. Almost like an American Wheat.

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Sure, Erdinger doesn't have all the tasty yeast produced flavor like other German Weissbiers, but comparing it to American Bud is just wrong. It's got way, way more flavor in it. Might not be to your tastes, but that's just not a good comparison, IMHO. I'd say most of its flavor is derived from the grain, but it's got a lot of flavor in it.

MattHollingsworth said:

Sure, Erdinger doesn't have all the tasty yeast produced flavor like other German Weissbiers, but comparing it to American Bud is just wrong. It's got way, way more flavor in it. Might not be to your tastes, but that's just not a good comparison, IMHO. I'd say most of its flavor is derived from the grain, but it's got a lot of flavor in it.

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I don't think he was comparing it to Bud at all. More like Widmer or Pyramid American wheats.

Beerrific said:

I don't think he was comparing it to Bud at all. More like Widmer or Pyramid American wheats.

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Yeah maybe. I think it's better than both of those though. That being said, I wouldn't culture their yeast to brew a German style Hefeweizen personally, whether it's lager yeast or not. I'm brewing one this weekend and opted for the Weihenstephaner yeast from Wyeast, as mentioned also in this thread.